The United Nations says Iraq has executed 36 men without proper trial.

The hangings were carried out on August 21 at a prison in southern Iraq, according to state TV. Those executed were suspected Sunni Muslim militants convicted in the killings up to 1,700 soldiers, most of them Shi’ite Muslims.

UN human rights spokeswoman Cecile Pouily said on August 23 that the men had been convicted based on information provided by secret informants or confessions allegedly extracted under duress.

She said the defendants' court-appointed lawyer did not intervene during the proceedings apart from a short statement just before the verdicts were delivered.

The United Nations, she said, had urged Iraqi authorities "to ensure that any trial conducted in connection with the massacre respects due process...rather than be fueled by vengeance. Unfortunately, this [36 hangings] was not the case.”